99% Germ Free

Ahh!! Never knew there could be so much to sanitizers and disinfectants… wipes, liquid, tablets, sprays… all the different brands. One is clinically tested; the other is approved by dermatologists. I won’t even get started on the many names for them; sanitizers, antiseptics, sterilizers, disinfectants… And here I am standing with a trolley full of all kinds of them. What bugs me is that at the end of the day I need to get used to that lifestyle. I won't be able to take supplies to last for 8 months, so the sooner I get down and dirty the sooner I will be able to get to the point of my trip and be able to start focusing of what really matters. I’m not saying to forget hygiene all together, for god knows how long I’ll hold it in until I’m satisfied with the water closet conditions, but are 5 different kinds of disinfectant wipes really necessary? But at least at this point I have enough disinfectants to wipe out any flu traces in my whole neighborhood :)

Visa's here!!

So after an extremely long wait, one that was making me believe this trip wasn't going to take place anymore, I finally received an email yesterday that my visa to Zambia is ready!! One part of me wanted to jump up and celebrate but another wouldn't allow me. It was always a dream of mine to travel around the world, set up home in a less developed country and to be of any help to the less fortunate. However, as anyone else would be, I was being pulled back by the emotions and thoughts of the loved ones I am to leave behind. I've always been the family girl and strongly attached to the people that make me smile each and every day, the people that are dearly engraved in my heart. However, I know that at some point they do understand why I need to take this step and that they will be in my thoughts every step of the way. So I just wanted to thank you for your support, love, understanding and patience. That is what makes it easier for me to take this journey.

On another note, with me leaving straight out of college and being not-married it seems like whoever hears of my upcoming plans directly associates it with marriage and hopes of me meeting the future Mr. right during my stay. Well I need to set the record straight. Unless I am to marry the King of Zambia, (whom I found out does not exist, there is a president though!! ) my aim for this trip was not, is not and will not be for match making purposes and for finding a love life but rather for finding A life!

P.S. The story of the "king" of Zambia is a Cinderella (short-term) fairy tale, where once a year the king holds a ball calling on all the single girls in town for the purpose of a one-year marriage. If you can call it that. (This is not a fact, however I believe it is a story my beautiful sister in-law created to scare me. Like any girl would say no to becoming queen!!)